Family Matters: Joel Osteen Meets with Activist Jay Bakker

Jay Bakker, the biker-dude son of Jim and Tammy Faye, succeeded (sort of) in his attempt to arrange a meeting between Lakewood Church’s Joel Osteen and gay and lesbian families.

Although Lakewood’s response was much more tepid than almost all the other mega-churches Bakker contacted across the country, it at least improved from “totally ignoring the gays” to “taking notice of them.”

On Mother’s Day, Bakker and his group went to Lakewood.

“Joel Osteen and his family were very kind and courteous,” Bakker said in a written statement. “They reserved special seats for our group of families, and they spoke compassionately to me on the first Mother’s Day since my Mom’s death.”

There was, however, a “but.”

“But our conversation indicated that they do not share our convictions and that Lakewood Church is not yet ready for an open dialogue with LBGT families.”

Well, we hope teh gheys at least learned some steps towards a “successful you,” or whatever it is Osteen is selling books about these days. – Richard Connelly